


A Hero Hidden In The Umbra

by CommissarDredd



Category: Dungeons The Dragoning 40k, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Cryptid Midoriya Izuku, F/M, Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, U.A. is a University (My Hero Academia)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:35:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26030518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CommissarDredd/pseuds/CommissarDredd
Summary: Midoriya Izuku, quirkless, went missing for a month after saving Bakugo Katsuki from a sludge villain. He came back a month later, different. Cryptic questions, knowledge of things yet to happen, and a quirk that allowed him to become one with the shadows. He was cast aside, being told he was creepy, a villain in the making. And through it all, he smiled. The world may think him a villain, he may only be looking for something the world could never understand, but he knew there was a fact everyone would have to recognize. He was going to become a hero.From the ashes of his own torment, he will forge his own path, with the darkness of the night standing at his side. And so, he will go to UA, get his license, and when the time comes. Well, I guess the world will find out, won't it?
Relationships: Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Fukukado Emi | Ms. Joke, Midoriya Izuku & Uraraka Ochako
Comments: 7
Kudos: 82
Collections: Love these stuff UwU





	A Hero Hidden In The Umbra

The gates of UA were shrouded in shadow as Uraraka walked up. Today was the first day of the rest of her life, the practical exam to UA stood in front of her. She just had to do well today and she would have taken the first step on supporting her parents. She watched as another student arrived ridiculously early. A boy with skin as pale as snow, a forest of green hair covering his head. He wore a baggy white hoody, obviously well-worn. The remnants of grass stains and small rips spread across the fabric, revealing what appeared to be a tight black shirt underneath. There was a pair of blue jeans on under it, with the denim faded and bleached. Uraraka stared as the young man leaned on the wall, smirking as he pulled out his phone, tapping on the screen quickly.

Uraraka stared as the man began twitching slightly before his head shot towards her. He was still smiling, tapping away at his phone as he walked towards her. His path was odd, dancing in the shadows without ever entering the light if he could avoid it. He stopped playing with his phone the moment he reached Uraraka, his smile widening. “Well hello there, what are you doing here so early?”

Uraraka flinched back at the sickly sweet voice, feeling a shudder run up her spine. The young man's smile showed a few teeth, which were shrouded in a bit too much darkness. “Personally, I just wanted a chance to look around, nobody will care if I walk about waiting for the exam to start, especially since I like to avoid bright lights. Medical conditions, right?”

Uraraka opened her mouth as the boy held up a hand, and revealed her anti-nausea pills dancing between his fingers. She grabbed them out of his hand with a scowl. “Hey, those are mine! You can’t just take other people’s stuff! Especially if you’re trying to be a hero!” 

The young man shrugged, leaning against the wall while his smile seemed to twitch. “Such is life. But being a hero does sound interesting. Nice to meet you by the way. I’m Midoriya Izuku, I can’t wait to share a class with you.”

Uraraka raised an eyebrow. “I’m Uraraka Ochako. How do you know we’ll be in the same class?”

Midoriya smiled, a few of his shining white teeth flashing in the light. “I listen. The voices that live on the other side of the shadows tell guests many things. And if you can survive their greeting a hundred truths will be whispered in your ears to the tune of a thousand lies. I simply learned to tell one from the other.” His head twitched up before a frown creased his face. “And the Malvolio to my Puck arrives. Farewell Uraraka, I’ll see you at the exam.”

Uraraka opened her mouth to respond, but the shadows rose first. They surrounded the young man like a thousand hands, sucking him into the pavement. Uraraka stared for a moment before light footsteps sounded behind her. She turned to see a skeletal man walking towards the building. He waved at Uraraka before coughing slightly into his hand. He stopped in front of her, and the timeline further shifted, a whispered voice tickled an ear cloaked in shadows. The world was different, and what to come would be altered beyond thought. In a realm that only vaguely existed, a yellow glowing smile split open.

***

The explanation for the exam was boring. Midoriya knew it would be, but thankfully he was reaching the end of the whispers. This is around the time they told more lies than truth anyway, so it wasn’t worth listening too. Not that it mattered, he hadn’t been able to go home since the whole thing started, and it looked like he wouldn’t be able too until he had finished this test. He rolled his eyes as the hero up front continued his explanation. The things he went through for just a lick of excitement anymore. He stood up as the hero finished off his spiel, looking down at his little ID. Training ground beta stared at him in neat print. He looked for a sign to point him in the right direction, only to be interrupted by a hand on his shoulder.

Midoriya turned to the face of the person behind him, finding the face of his High-school tormentor. Katsuki Bakugo looked ready to explode, his free hand popping like firecrackers. “Deku, what did I say about applying to UA?”

Midoriya paused, trying to remember. It was before his ‘strange disappearance’ and felt like a lifetime ago. Midoriya couldn’t remember for the life of him. His lips tilted up, looking at the other man with a soft smile. “Sorry Bakugo, I can’t say I do. And it obviously wasn’t important enough for me to find at home, so I don’t really care.”

Bakugo seemed to freeze for a moment, which was all Midoriya needed. He rolled to the side, dodging out of Bakugo’s grip and turning towards a group of people. It didn’t take long to meld with the group heading into B group, and he smiled as he saw the girl from this morning with him. He received very little information on the future at UA, but he knew she’d be there, and that she was interesting. He chuckled as he got onto the bus, cracking his neck calmly.

The bus ride was quiet, the students all trying to psych themselves up. All except for Midoriya, who was leaning his head back, nearly falling asleep as the twenty-minute ride seemed to drag on for an eternity. He was saved from his boredom by Uraraka tapping him on the shoulder, a mild glare causing a cute pout to coat her face. “Hey, could you cut that out, you’re worrying the other testers.”

Midoriya looked around, only to notice half his body coated in shadow, with it slowly spreading onto the seat. He smiled as the shadows receded, nodding. “Sorry, that happens when I get too far in my own head. The bus seemed to let out a breath as Midoriya leaned back into his chair. He glanced back at Uraraka, flashing a quick smile. “By the way, sorry if I was weird this morning. I was getting to see something I had only dreamed of and was kinda letting my quirk talk for me.”

Uraraka bit her lip, but part of a hero was being forgiving, right? She nodded, trying to smile at him. “It’s ok, mostly you were just kinda annoying. What do you mean you let your quirk talk for you?”

Midoriya blushed, rubbing the back of his head as the bus rolled to a stop. “Oh look, we’re here! We should head to the test site!” He bolted up, heading out the door as it opened for them. Uraraka stared after him, before a small smile found itself on her face. “Well, I guess he’s not all bad. He’s at least cute when he’s flustered.” She paused for a moment before her face went red, she bolted up and slapped her face. “Focus Uraraka, you’ve got a test to take and a mentor to impress.

Izuku Midoriya looked over his new stuff as the timer for the start of the exam ticked down. The prep phase of the exam had proven a gold mine, with a large collection of pencils, pens, and loose change that he would inevitably lose later. But for the moment he could giggle about the three glasses he had gotten off of a single potential student. He threw them in his back pocket, uncaring of if they fell out or not. He spent a moment looking around before deciding the exam should start soon. He closed his eyes, touching the darkness deep inside him, and opened the door. There was a gasp as shadows coated him, with his hood raised he seemed to become a living shadow, his arms and neck twitching as he lowered himself on to all fours, glowing yellow eyes sending searchlights over the crowd, as his jack-o-lantern smile etched itself into their brains. Present Mic shouted something, but all Midoriya heard was the small click of the gate unlocking. He tore off, shadowed palms not feeling gravel or stones as he bolted down the street like a feral beast. He jumped over the first robot, spinning in midair as his foot impacted the ocular lens. There was a dying whirr as the metal crumpled and sparked, but Midoriya never heard it, already jumping off the robot and sprinting forward. His head twitched side-to-side, the side-effect of his power increasing what he could see.

He heard the clack of steel on concrete, and his fingers dug trenches into the street as he swerved left. A shout sounded from the area Midoriya pointed towards, and his feet began carving a trench. There wasn’t a thought in his mind as he pushed off of the concrete, leaving splotches of darkness behind as he flew across the ground. He saw a tester doubled over in front of a sparking robot, another one coming from behind. Midoriya smirked, thorns sprouting around his fist as he leaped forward. “GET DOWN!”

The boy listened, falling forward as Midoriya tackled the robot over him. His hand found joints, twisting them to impossible angles, destroying the fine motors within. He looked around from his sprawled position, the faint glow from his smile putting the robots head in a sickly light. Without another thought he charged off, his hands and feet slamming on the concrete. The blonde-haired tester stared after him for a moment, before smiling. “Damn, guess I gotta speed up a bit.” Electricity arced from his fingertips as he moved in the opposite direction, looking for more robots. The shadows around him shifted and rolled, and he disappeared around them as metal sounded on concrete, and his laugh echoed across the arena.

***

Uraraka let out a deep breath as she pulled her fist free of the floating wreckage in front of her. She shook the pain out of her wrist as pink lightning arced across her body. She couldn’t use much of it yet, but her newest abilities were useful for confirming her kills quickly. She turned to her left where a line of shadow raced across the ground, cackling laughter as it hit a three-pointer. There was a sound similar to aluminum foil being ripped to shreds before the robot’s head was sent flying from the darkness. She let out a sigh as she guessed the culprit, looking on even as the shadows faded and shrunk. Izuku Midoriya still wreathed in darkness, looked back at her, a shit-eating grin spreading wide across his face. “Oh, hi Uraraka, having fun?”

The gravity girl scoffed, looking over the testing site. “We’re in a test Midoriya, you should be focusing on that right now.” Even looking around she couldn’t hear the sound of robots moving nearby, but paused as Midoriya leaned against a wall, pulling a pair of glasses out of his pockets and putting them on. “Don’t worry, this area’s one hundred percent clear, and the test is almost over anyway.” The young man slid down the wall, sliding to a stop on his butt. “It’s all over but the crying now.”

Uraraka raised an eyebrow but moved beside him. “How do you know?”

Midoriya pulled his arm out, letting the shadows fade around it as he smiled wide. “I brought a watch. It’s fifteen minutes, and there’s no zero pointer yet, so obviously it’s gonna wreck the site and cause chaos! I can’t wait!”

Uraraka stared at him in hock for a moment before the ground itself shuddered. Buildings began to crack and fall around them, seeming like a scene from a disaster movie. And Midoriya began to laugh. As civilization crashed into ruin, shadows rose and warped, unfamiliar shapes flitting in and out of existence around them. Uraraka took a step back as shadowed arms spread wide. “LOOK AT IT! THE EXCITEMENT! THE TERROR AND JOY! THIS IS WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!!: He turned to Uraraka, his smile glowing in toxic green. “SO LITTLE HEROINE, LET'S GO SAVE SOME TRAPPED HOPEFULS!”

Uraraka stared at the outstretched hand, and a grin broke her face. “Okay, that's what heroes do, right?”

Midoriya’s grin widened, even as the shadows began to float up with his body. “Of course, that's what heroes do.” His arm stretched slightly, gripping into the wall as he dragged both him and Uraraka off, wind whipping her hair as they came upon a group of students cornered in the rubble. 

Midoriya giggled, dropping Uraraka at them. “This is your job Hero, I’ll go buy you some time. Give me like, seven more seconds of float time please!” Uraraka watched as she fell, the boy tilting his body, aiming his head towards the monolithic robot still rising to its full height. She shook her head, focusing on the group of people behind her. She turned quickly, rolling with the landing as she forced a smile on her face. “Hey everybody, you need a hand?”

***

Midoriya’s grin was threatening to tear into his face as he soared through the air, speeds long thought impossible seemed like a natural pace for the Darkspawn, the buildings around him becoming jumping points to reach greater and greater speeds. He laughed manically, shouting as he broke past the buildings and advanced on the titan in front of him. “FASTER AND FASTER, UNTIL THE THRILL OF SPEED OVERCOMES MY FEAR OF DEATH!” He felt his weight return as he hit the apex of his jump, directly above the giant below him. The thorns coating his arm strengthened, spreading over his fist and growing strangely. He let out another laugh as he fell, the viewport of the bot staring up at him with red hazed glass. His fist extended and crashed into the reinforced glass. It cracked, and Midoriya’s smile went crazed. “Finally, something interesting.”

The machine whirred, itt’s arm moving slowly as Midoriya landed on it’s shoulder. He cracked his neck once, then got on all fours, his arms and legs twitching. “Okay, lets get serious.” He saw the heavy chords leading up to its rectangular head and scrambled forwards. He swung low as an arm crashed into the shoulder behind him, but its advance was slow and plodding compared to him. He reached the chord, grabbing it with one arm and hooking a leg behind it. With a grunt of effort, he tore down, using both his legs and arms to force the piece of machinery down. There was a slight groan as the metal buckled, and then a snap. The chord fell free, Midoriya following it as it fell off the shoulder, and the left arm of the behemoth went limp. 

The crazed laughter echoed as Midoriya swung from the chord like some strange ape, the shadows arcing behind him as he landed on the other shoulder, grabbing another chord. The zero-pointer tried to respond, but as oil and fluids leaked from it’s neck it was slowing down. And the second chord snapped of an instant later. Midoriya’s grin finally faded as the zero-pointer lurched to a haly, it’s rectangular head dropping to its chest. He let out a sigh, climbing atop the monstrosity as the timer ticked down. He sat down on the remains of the so-called distraction obstacle, looking over the testing site. “I wonder if I bought her enough time?” He scratched the back of his head before shrugging, leaning back until he was laying down, and letting his Inner Night fade. The shadows around him dissipated, leaving him in his torn hoodie and jeans as he closed his eyes. “Well, either way. That was definitely fun.”

*** 

Midoriya left the exam already forgetting the lecture from Recovery Girl about scaling massive building-sized robot. What he wasn’t forgetting was the collection of gummy bears currently sitting in his pockets as he munched on a few with a smile. It was nice to have some real food, he had gotten so used to the imitations he normally at that he had almost forgotten what regular food tastes like. Of course, that wouldn’t make him more likely to actually spend more time away from his home, but it did make him more likely to actually keep track of these gummies and eat real food. Maybe he should go get some noodles. With that thought in his head, he wandered across town, making a slow and plodding journey back to the apartment his mother lived at. It wasn’t a huge rush, since she spent more and more time at work since he got a quirk, something about paying for a good college. He ignored it, he already knew he could get whatever scholarship he wanted, and if he got into UA their Hero course students got full rides, so she could do as she wanted. Worst case scenario she lived more comfortably when she realized that Midoriya wasn’t going to accept it. He hummed a tune as he jumped onto the railing of a stairwell he was walking down, performing a small balance beam as he descended. A voice behind him gave him pause. “Hey, Midoriya, right?”

He paused, turning around with wide steps as the girl from earlier walked up, a backpack slung over one shoulder. He smiled wide, waving at her. “Oh, hi Uraraka! What are you doing way out here?”

She rolled her eyes, raising an eyebrow at him before glancing at the ground in front of her. He smiled wider, the mischievous glint gone as he hopped down. She nodded back at him. “Thank you, and I was walking to the apartment my parents rented for me. Why are you out this way.”

Midoriya shrugged looking around as he realized he was actually fairly close to his moms. “Oh, I’m heading to my moms, it’s pretty close to here and I was going to grab some stuff from my room.”

Uraraka nodded, turning left and raised an eyebrow as Midoriya followed. An awful thought entered her head. “Do you live in Mustufa Midoriya?”

He shrugged, looking at something in his hands. “I don’t, but my mom does. I visit her every now and again, just to make sure she’s still alive and stuff.” He spun his hands open, passing her the object in question. “Do you need glasses?”

Uraraka looked at them with a raised eyebrow. They were square, with the edges roughened by use. “Where did you get these?”

Midoriya shrugged. “When we were setting up some dude yelled at me for disrupting people on the bus and a few other things. I kinda zoned out, but he had these shoved in his pocket. Well, those and like five other pairs. So I grabbed one because it was there and now I don’t know what to do with them.”

Uraraka felt one of her eyes twitch. “You little klepto, you should return these!”

Midoriya shrugged. “You’re right, on both counts actually. The local police know I have some sticky fingers, but they make sure I know not to grab anything expensive, I just made an exception for those glasses since he had like fifteen.” Midoriya shoved his hands in his pockets, only to pull one out and throw a gummi bear in his mouth. Uraraka stared as her stomach growled. She didn’t have the money to get anything extra besides what was at her apartment and was feeling it now. Midoriya raised an eyebrow. “You wanna get some food real quick? There’s a good noodle place right across the street from my mom’s, then you also wouldn’t have to worry about the weird shadow-guy knowing where you live.” He shrugged for a second before smiling. “My treat, I know I’m kinda hard to get along with, and you’re the first person nice enough to talk to me!”

Uraraka’s glare lowered, suddenly feeling like the boy was lonelier than he seemed. She nodded, smiling slightly. “Sure, I could go for something hot. Can I have a gummi?” 

She was rewarded with a wide and innocent smile that sent a blush to her cheeks. ‘Well, when he isn’t busy looking like a children’s villain he really is pretty cute’ Her thoughts caught up to her as she grabbed a gummi, and her blush erupted fiercely, turning her into a tomato colored bouncy ball. Midoriya giggled, grabbing her arm before she floated off. “C’mon Uraraka, it’s right around the corner.”

After a moment Uraraka managed to cancel her quirk, falling softly to her feet as Midoriy walked happily beside her. He was whistling a tune as he bounced through town, and his carefree nature was beginning to infect Uraraka. She found herself nodding along to his tune. She found herself at the noodle store just as his song ended.He wandered inside, raising a hand in easy greeting. “Good evening Mr. Maruki!” A brown-haired man peeked over the counter, smiling as he waved back. Midoriya sat in front of him, leaning forward as he rested his hands on the counter. “I want some noodles, and get her whatever she wants.”

He made a gesture to Uraraka as she sat down, and Mr. Maruki raised an eyebrow. “What’s this Midoriya, finally making some friends? And here I thought you scared off almost everyone who knew you.”

Midoriya nodded, grabbing a napkin from the counter and folding it into a shape. “Yeah, but she took the UA entrance exam with me, so she didn’t suffer the whiplash everyone else did. She only knows the new me.”

Uraraka raised an eyebrow. “The new you?”

Mr. Maruki smiled. “Yeah, Izuku’s quirk only awakened a few months ago. When ot did he got trapped inside it for a month or two, and he came back like this. He used to be a really polite little boy, but a bit of a crybaby.”

Midoriya snorted. “Yeah, maybe because Aldera lets anyone with a quirk be utter jerks to the students without. I’m still trying to find a lawyer willing to take them to task over it. But when you start talking about bullying the quirkless most adults stop caring.”

Uraraka was unabashedly staring at Midoriya at this. He was a bullied quirkless kid for most of his life, and only recently got his quirk. One who could use his quirk as easily as an adult who had used it their whole life. Then again, he did say it talked for him sometimes. She was roused by a throat clearing beside her. She looked to Mr. Maruki before remembering what he wanted. “Um, do you have some Shirataki? I want some of that please.”

Mr. Maruki nodded, smiling wide as he went to his cooking area. Midoriya shook his head at him, smirking at the man as he finished a small origami crane. He placed it on the counter. “Sorry about him, Mr. Maruki is nice, but he’s chattier than some people like. He’s great though. He also is considered the way the neighborhood can keep track of me.”

Uraraka raised an eyebrow as Mr. Maruki nodded. “Yep, speaking of. Midoriya, Ms. Margaret was wondering if she lost her coupon for cat food or if you have it.” 

Midoriya looked embarrassed for a moment as he checked his pockets as quickly as possible. “Uh, I didn’t grab it.” He pulled out a small water bottle, placing it on the counter. “But when Ms. Bakugo comes in give her this water bottle back. I think I grabbed it when she ran into me at the corner store, so I just wanted to return it.”

Mr. Maruki scoffed. “How much trouble would people save me if they just checked their stuff after you showed up. Speaking of if I’m missing a pair of chopsticks after this I’m going to be disappointed in you.”

Midoriya nodded quickly, making Uraraka giggle. “So this is how you spend your free time? Getting chewed out for being a klepto by a noodle shop chef?”

Midoriya sighed as his noodles were dropped in front of him, Uraraka’s following shortly after. He nodded as he grabbed the chopsticks in front of him. “A surprising amount of the time. Either that or chilling out at home.”

Uraraka nodded as she began eating her own noodles, smiling at the taste as she settled into her chair. The conversation died there, but one thing was clear. Maybe Izuku Midoriya was a pretty cool guy, even if he was a bit creepy.


End file.
